Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales set the pace in the opening MotoGP practice session for the Dutch TT at the iconic Assen circuit.
Though he made clear his continued discontent with his treatment at Yamaha following last weekend’s German GP, Vinales claimed that he could be fast at Assen “even with a Moto2 bike” – and his confidence was validated by a strong start to the weekend, as he led FP1 by six-and-a-half tenths at the halfway point.
Honda’s Pol Espargaro jumped ahead a few minutes later, but Vinales – who said he would “exactly” copy Fabio Quartararo’s set-up this weekend – needed little time to retake the top spot, and would improve again moments before the chequered flag, posting a 1m33.072s.
Espargaro, who like Vinales is looking to emulate the settings used by his better-performing Honda team-mate Marc Marquez, improved moments after Vinales but settled for second, 0.111s off the pace.
Suzuki rider Alex Rins in third place was over three tenths down on Espargaro, with Quartararo a further tenth off in fourth.
Pramac rider Johann Zarco was the leading Ducati in fifth place, as neither of the factory team’s riders made it in the top 10. The same was true for KTM, its works duo no higher than 14th while Tech3’s Danilo Petrucci led the way in sixth place.
Aleix Espargaro and Lorenzo Savadori made it two Aprilias in the top 10, in seventh and 10th respectively, split by the Hondas of Takaaki Nakagami and Marc Marquez. Nakagami had his two fastest laps deleted, and would’ve been fourth if his fastest lap had stood.
Replacing the injured Franco Morbidelli, who is set for surgery on his left knee on Friday, Petronas SRT Yamaha stand-in Garrett Gerloff was gradually getting closer to the pace when he suffered a mid-session fall.
Assen poses a serious challenge, no matter how much #MotoGP experience you have! 🙌@garrettgerloff is caught out in FP1! 💢#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/FLPSTEQsjk
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 25, 2021
World Superbike regular Gerloff did improve slightly after returning to the track, but wound up last, 2.9s off the pace.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maverick Viñales | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1m33.072s | ||
| 2 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.111s | +0.111s | 1m33.183s |
| 3 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.318s | +0.429s | 1m33.501s |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.132s | +0.561s | 1m33.633s |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.254s | +0.815s | 1m33.887s |
| 6 | Danilo Petrucci | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.052s | +0.867s | 1m33.939s |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.054s | +0.921s | 1m33.993s |
| 8 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +0.011s | +0.932s | 1m34.004s |
| 9 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.044s | +0.976s | 1m34.048s |
| 10 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.05s | +1.026s | 1m34.098s |
| 11 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.147s | +1.173s | 1m34.245s |
| 12 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.02s | +1.193s | 1m34.265s |
| 13 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.034s | +1.227s | 1m34.299s |
| 14 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.123s | +1.35s | 1m34.422s |
| 15 | Valentino Rossi | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.009s | +1.359s | 1m34.431s |
| 16 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.06s | +1.419s | 1m34.491s |
| 17 | Iker Lecuona | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.019s | +1.438s | 1m34.51s |
| 18 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.406s | +1.844s | 1m34.916s |
| 19 | Enea Bastianini | Avintia Esponsorama Racing | Ducati | +0.337s | +2.181s | 1m35.253s |
| 20 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.039s | +2.22s | 1m35.292s |
| 21 | Luca Marini | SKY VR46 Avintia Team | Ducati | +0.214s | +2.434s | 1m35.506s |
| 22 | Garrett Gerloff | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.455s | +2.889s | 1m35.961s |
